Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 385 Operation Plan A!
The Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army, Yamashita Tomoyuki, raised his eyebrows:
"Shinozuka-kun, I remember the last time you came to headquarters and reported Operation Plan A to General Terauchi, you told him that the chance of victory was 80%."

"This time, your 'Operation Plan A' has a higher success rate than last time."

The battle plans in Yoshio Shinozuka's hand are divided into "Operation Plan No. a" and "Operation Plan No. A". The capital A represents true and the lowercase a represents false.

"Yes, Yamashita-kun."

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded confidently:
"In this battle, in addition to their superior numbers, the Locust Army also has a firepower advantage. Currently, most of the artillery and tank units of the Eighth Route Army's New 1st Regiment have been wiped out by the 54th Flying Squadron. In terms of artillery firepower, the Locust Army can crush the Eighth Route Army's New 1st Regiment. My 90% chance of winning this battle is still a conservative estimate."

"According to the report from the 54th Flying Squadron, they discovered that the Eighth Route Army has built many tunnels and concrete fortifications around its base in northwestern Shanxi. How did you get into the Eighth Route Army base in northwestern Shanxi?" Sugiyama Gen was still very cautious. He had an 80% chance of winning but had failed, and it was a crushing defeat. He still had doubts about Shinozuka Yoshio's ability.

After studying the battle records between the First Army and the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong, Sugiyama Gen found the Eighth Route Army's defensive tactics very difficult to deal with.

Shinozuka Yoshio made full preparations for this: "First, we will launch a surprise attack. We will have elite troops lurk near the Eighth Route Army tunnels and concrete fortifications at night, launch a surprise attack to occupy the frontal positions, and then use flamethrowers to burn the Eighth Route Army in the tunnels to death."

Yamashita Tomoyuki asked, "What if the sneak attack fails?"

Shinozuka Yoshio said, "Then let the Locust Army soldiers charge, and the Locust Army will fire from behind. My First Army has two 240mm heavy howitzers, which are enough to destroy the Eighth Route Army's concrete fortifications and kill a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers."

"Yoshi."

Sugiyama nodded, thinking about the recent victories of the First Army, and finally made the decision:
"Mr. Shinozuka, the headquarters agrees with your battle plan, but the troops you have deployed in Taiyuan are too few, only a single infantry regiment. If the war breaks out and the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in the Luliang Mountains jointly attack Taiyuan, your First Army headquarters will be in great danger."

"To ensure victory in this campaign in northwestern Shanxi, I will place the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Mongolian Army under your command. The brigade commander is Major General Abe Nobuhide, an expert in mountain warfare and skilled in employing new tactics."

"Hi," Shinozuka Yoshio said, "This way, I can leave the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade in Taiyuan to protect the safety of the First Army Headquarters."

"Just take care of the arrangements," Sugiyama nodded. "I'll also give you two Type 45 heavy howitzers. They'll be great for taking down fortresses, and attacking the Eighth Route Army's tunnels and concrete fortifications shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you, General." Shinozuka Yoshio showed a touch of ecstasy, stood up and bowed in gratitude, "In this battle, I will severely damage the main force of the New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army in Northwest Shanxi."

The North China Front Army had two independent siege heavy artillery battalions, each equipped with four Meiji 45-year type 240mm howitzers.

This howitzer was called Yamato Soul by the Japanese.

The First Army originally had two of these howitzers, which performed well in the battle to attack the Jinzhong base.

If Li Yunlong had not led his troops to launch a surprise attack on Yangquan, the outcome of that battle would have been difficult to predict.

Originally, Yoshio Shinozuka came to the North China Front Army Headquarters this time to request a batch of 240mm artillery shells.

Now that he had four 240mm howitzers in his hands, Shinozuka Yoshio immediately became more confident. "In terms of combat supplies..."

Sugiyama Gen said:
"I can only give you 5000 tons of combat supplies at most."

"Commander," Shinozuka Yoshio said in embarrassment, "5000 tons of combat supplies can only be consumed for half a month. The Eighth Route Army excels at guerrilla warfare, and half a month may not be enough to inflict a heavy blow on the Eighth Route Army in northwest Shanxi..."

The combat load of one division is 1 tons of ammunition and supplies. Basically, the combat load of one division is the amount of ammunition that one division needs to fight for three months. If the battle is particularly intense, it can basically meet the combat load for one month.

The combat load of ammunition for one division of the Japanese Army was equal to 1 base units of ammunition. Specifically, one combat load of ammunition included 20 rounds of ammunition for a rifle, 1 rounds of ammunition for a light machine gun, and 1 rounds of ammunition for a heavy machine gun.

1门速射炮900发炮弹，1门山野炮2000发炮弹，1门105毫米火炮1000发炮弹。1门150榴弹炮600发炮弹，1门240毫米榴弹炮400发炮弹。

When fighting in China, the Japanese army always had at least 0.5 divisions' worth of ammunition for each division. This time, there were about four divisions fighting in total, but they only had 0.5 divisions' worth of combat supplies.

Of course, Yoshio Shinozuka felt it was too little.

Shinozuka Yoshio continued, "General, the supply needed for a division to fight for a month is approximately 1 tons. This time, our First Army is deploying approximately three divisions and three mixed brigades, so a month of fighting will require approximately 1 tons of supplies."

"If 5000 tons of combat supplies were evenly distributed among these 100 soldiers, each rifle would only have a little over 2000 rounds of ammunition, a machine gun would have over 1 rounds of ammunition, and a heavy machine gun would have less than 8000 rounds of ammunition..."

Sugiyama Motoshi remained unmoved, so Yamashita Tomoyuki explained, "As you know, Shinozuka-kun, the Imperial Army's supplies are limited. The Central China Front Army and the 11th Army are about to attack Changsha, Hunan. The Chinese army has concentrated heavy defenses in this area, totaling hundreds of thousands of troops. Xue Yue is a formidable opponent. The Eighth Route Army we're dealing with only has a few tens of thousands of men. It's impossible for the headquarters to mobilize much supplies for us."

"What's more, this time our North China Front Army is fighting on two fronts. We must not only attack the Eighth Route Army base in northwest Shanxi, but also the Eighth Route Army base in central Shanxi. We will completely help your First Army resolve the traffic threats on Tongpu Road and Zhengtai Road."

"In addition, the locust troops of other units have to defend the occupied areas and guard against harassment and attacks by the Chinese army. The headquarters really can't provide more combat supplies."

Sugiyama nodded and said, "Shinozuka-kun should consider using the least amount of weapons and ammunition to achieve the greatest victory."

The corners of Yoshio Shinozuka's mouth twitched. It was like not giving the horse grass to eat, but expecting it to run away.

But this time the combat supplies were too scarce. On average, each soldier had more than 100 bullets, and each cannon had more than 200 shells. What a waste of time!
In the end, under Shinozuka Yoshio's insistence, Sugi Sangen gave him another 2000 tons of combat supplies, but the prerequisite was that Shinozuka Yoshio had to sign a military order.

Yoshio Shinozuka is very familiar with the military order. He and Ikki Yamamoto signed a military order last time.

In order to obtain an additional 2000 tons of combat supplies, Shinozuka Yoshio had no choice but to bite the bullet and issue a military order:
Petitioner: Yoshio Shinozuka
Unit: Commander of the 1st Army of the North China Front Army, Yoshio Shinozuka
Today, as "Operation Plan A" is about to be launched, in order to ensure the successful completion of the mission and maintain the honor of the troops, I, Yoshio Shinozuka, as the direct person in charge of this mission, hereby issue this military order to show my determination. If I violate this military order, I am willing to accept the most severe punishment.

(End of this chapter)